Les Litanies de Satan

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"Les Litanies de Satan" ("The Litanies of Satan") is a poem by Charles Baudelaire, published as part of Les Fleurs du mal . The date of composition is unknown, but there is no evidence that it was composed at a different time to the other poems of the volume. [1]

Contents

The poem is a renunciation of religion, and Catholicism in particular. [2] It includes a blasphemous inversion of the Kyrie Eleison and the Glory Be, parts of the Catholic Mass, [3] or it substitutes Satan for Mary and liturgy directed towards her. [4] Swinburne called it the key to Les Fleurs du mal. [4] The poet empathises with Satan, who has also experienced injustice [5] and can have pity for those who are outcasts. But for political reasons, Baudelaire had to preface the poem with a note explaining he had no personal allegiance with Satan. [6] Even so, Les Fleurs du mal led to him and his publishers being fined for "insult to public decency".

The poem is an inspiration to Satanists to this day. [7]

Recordings

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References

  1. ↑ Starkie, Enid (1933). Baudelaire. G.P. Putnam's sons. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  2. ↑ Debusscher, Gilbert; Schvey, Henry I.; Maufort, Marc (1989). New essays on American drama. Rodopi. p. 16. ISBN   978-90-5183-107-8 . Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Lawler, James R. (1997). Poetry and moral dialectic: Baudelaire's "secret architecture". Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 156. ISBN   978-0-8386-3758-6 . Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  4. 1 2 universitet, Uppsala (1975). Studia anglistica upsaliensia. Almqvist & Wiksell. ISBN   978-91-554-0331-7 . Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  5. ↑ Daniel, Robert R. (1997). The poetry of Villon and Baudelaire: two worlds, one human condition. P. Lang. ISBN   978-0-8204-3472-8 . Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  6. ↑ Leakey, F. W. (1992). Baudelaire, Les fleurs du mal . Cambridge University Press. p.  31. ISBN   978-0-521-36116-3 . Retrieved 21 September 2010. Les Litanies de Satan.
  7. ↑ Flowers From Hell: A Satanic Reader
  8. ↑ "Music | Theater Oobleck". Theateroobleck.bandcamp.com. 2015-08-23. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  9. ↑ Anakarsis - Les Litanies de Satan - Charles Baudelaire Les Fleurs du Mal. YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-09.


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